


Gently Rise (And Softly Call)

by SharkyIsSnarky



Series: Shark Bites: One Shots, Drabbles, and Snippets [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, New Year's Eve, Worry and comfort, just very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22072141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkyIsSnarky/pseuds/SharkyIsSnarky
Summary: Kakashi has a moment to consider what awaits him in the year ahead.
Series: Shark Bites: One Shots, Drabbles, and Snippets [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1166138
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Gently Rise (And Softly Call)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [totaltrashmammal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/totaltrashmammal/gifts).



> BIG OL' RIN AND SAKUMO LIVED AU. That means Obito is alive and well in Konoha, Rin is a terror in the hospital and a resident horrifying one woman army at age 26. Sakumo is retired and constantly covered in both dogs and kids he watches for parents on missions because the man deserved to be happy. Minato and Kushina decided as a team that it was more important to them to be present in their son's life than to wear some hat so they became an academy teacher and an in-village security specialist respectively. Tsunade got tapped to be the 5th by her distant "whatever removed qualifier applies" niece Kushina, found out about Root before destroying it and here we are in a better world. OKAY BACKGROUND DONE WE ARE HAPPY HERE.

The fog misting out of the thermos Tsunade placed at Kakashi’s side was what made him finally snap out of his thoughts. He had come to the top of the monument to watch the sunset ostensibly but even without a watch he knew that it was hours past that excuse’s expiration. Stars dotted the sky like illuminated windows in the village below.

"Is this for me?"

"If you freeze on top of my grandfather's head I'll never hear the end of it, Hatake. My question is: are you really walking around in public wrapped in a blanket?" 

Kakashi took the thermos and mulled wine greeted him. The scents of individual cloves, spices, and lingering hint of orange peel, blended and flowed like clouds before his eyes. He shifted his blanket higher up on his shoulders. "In my defense it's night."

"Nice nightwear." Tsunade snorted as she thudded to the stone next to him. "I'm going to take a shot in the dark as to why you're up here sulking instead of making osechi with the brats and your teammates for new years tomorrow."

"Maa, every babysitter needs a break. And they're all bigger babies than usual so the break should also be bigger. I'm working off a scale Hokage-sama." He sipped the wine and it was very good. Trust Tsunade to know her alcohol.

"I was going to guess that you're afraid." Tsunade said calmly, and despite mulled wine in his stomach and a thick blanket around his shoulders Kakashi felt like his chest had rapidly turned hollow. He hated this feeling and if Tsunade's eyes were full of pity rather than commiseration he would hate her too. "I was so scared to take the hat that I'd have vomited and bolted if Kushina left me alone for more than a few minutes at a time."

"I-"

"If you run I'm catching you and sitting your ass down so hard that whatever Hokage's head gets hit as a consequence will start aching all the way in the pure lands." Kakashi hadn't even realized he was on his feet but he gave a small chuckle and sat. She was smiling as she threatened him but her eyes were old and sad. Kakashi thought of his own father's eyes when he understood more than he let on. "It's okay to be scared, Kakashi. We're Shinobi. We get scared and then get over it because that's what we do. What's not okay is to run from our jobs and leave the people who believe in us behind."

"I'm not ready."

"I know. I made my suggestion knowing you'd be an excellent candidate in a few years." Kakashi wants to bend in half and scream into his own palms like Rin does after rough days at the hospital. This is the part that fucked with him, this trust in him when he hadn't done anything to earn it. Rin and Obito had given him their trust and after years of working together it felt earned. Sensei and Kushina had a similarly earned trust and his students were constantly asking for his help. This was a whole village giving him the reins, giving him too much with no price. Then Kakashi felt a solid hand on his shoulder as Tsunade stood and stretched. 

“You can be ready later.” She said with a simple smile. He reached up without thinking and gripped that hand hard.

“What if I’m never ready?”

“Then we can figure something else out. But I think you will be.” 

And with that she was gone and Kakashi was simply wrapped in his blanket and the silence of a winter night. It could have been an hour or a few minutes later when he heard a few people moving around the paths nearby.

“-sei! We gotta be together at midnight or it’s bad luck y’know!”

“Noisy.”

“Now now baby cousin, don’t be a party pooper.”

Kakashi sighed and considered his choices. He could stay and be found or find somewhere else to hide. And to be honest he wanted to be found. Granted he wasn’t going to make it any easier than it already was. So he waited for the group to draw closer. 

Every time it was like a storm rolling in. Naruto and Rin always tried to be the first to touch, to smile at him, to yell “found you” in glee. Obito had mellowed with time but this time, as always, he bullied his way to Kakashi’s side and stayed there. Sakura and Sasuke were still learning him but it spoke volumes of her comfort and growth when the twelve-year-old put her hands on her hips and squinted before asking, “Are you wearing a blanket?”

“I am being sensible and staying warm.” Kakashi replied simply.

“It’s totally a blanket.” Obito, the traitor, got elbowed in the side for that. “Jerk. Anyway we’re here to retrieve you.”

“Oh?”

“Orders from the top.” Rin said, making Naruto her armrest. The kid didn’t seem to mind at least. “Gotta be together, Da- Te - Ba - Ne?” with every syllable Kakashi realized how much he needed to hurry and get to the Uzumaki-Namikaze house right now.

At least Sasuke was smiling. He’d just have to remember that when Kushina yelled at him. Obito and Naruto started pushing and pulling him respectively to a standing position. Kakashi went with little fight and consented to be pulled along by three small children and two overgrown children. As they traveled the sky finally let the snow that had been threatening the village loose. They left the wooded trails and entered streets of homes lined with  Kadomatsu and passed some eager families moving towards temples for an early hatsumode. And all that time snow fell like fluffy flakes on this village.

Kakashi felt, as he was headed to a warm house with his father and his found family waiting, that this was a precious feeling. He wanted this peace every year. He wanted to protect this moment. Maybe in a few years he would be ready to protect this feeling for the whole village, but for now-

“Sensei! Hurry up!” Sakura mock-whined as she shoved his back, rapidly joined by the boys. Kakashi simply went into dead weight and all three crumpled beneath him with screams of indignation and let snow fall on his face. 

He could be ready later, for now he was happy.


End file.
